Three Churches Demolished, One Prophet Given the Land: A Harare Park Changes Hands

• Harare City Council demolished three churches along High Glen Road
• The land was allocated to Prophet Tapiwa Freddy’s Goodness and Mercy Ministries
• The churches said they were never offered the chance to buy the land
• The council said the occupiers had no valid lease and were given 48 hours’ notice

Harare City Council demolished three churches operating on a recreational park along High Glen Road to make way for Prophet Tapiwa Freddy’s Goodness and Mercy Ministries, Zimbabwe’s H-Metro reported on April 15, 2021. The churches affected were Christ the King Church, Sungano yeVapositori and Vafudzi veBethlehem.

Council spokesman Michael Chideme said the occupiers had no valid lease and were served a 48-hour notice under the Urban Councils Act. “The legal leaseholder now is Goodness and Mercy Ministries fronted by Prophet T Freddy,” he said. The prophet’s own illegal structure in Glen View had been demolished the year before, after which he applied successfully for this site.

George Chinyani, a priest with Sungano yeVapositori, said they had once approached the council to apply for the land. “We relaxed since they promised to consider us when the place was due for church stands,” he said. Bright Tambara, caretaker at Christ the King Church, said they had operated at the site since 2015. “We don’t know how they chose Prophet Freddy over us when we are all conducting the same business of worship,” he said.

Prophet Freddy urged churches still operating illegally to apply for proper places of worship. “Our own illegal structure was demolished last year and that was a necessary blow for us to put our house in order and acquire a legal site,” he said.

The Harare case shows that when land is allocated, the church with the lease wins, not the church that got there first. For Jamaican congregations using public or private land informally, the lesson is to apply, pay and get the paperwork, rather than relying on promises that the site will be theirs in time. Delay can hand the land to someone else.

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